''Underneath'' is the fourth studio album by

The Verve Pipe The Verve Pipe is an American rock band from Michigan. It was formed in 1992 in East Lansing by Brian Vander Ark, Brian Stout and Donny Brown. History In November 1992, Brian Vander Ark of the band "Johnny with an Eye" signed a production dea ...

, released in 2001. Produced by

Adam Schlesinger Adam Lyons Schlesinger (October 31, 1967 – April 1, 2020) was an American musician, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He was a founding member of the bands Fountains of Wayne, Ivy, and Tinted Windows, and was a key songwriting contri ...

, the album's power-pop sound was a departure from the darker, textured sonics of ''

'' and ''

Villains A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...

''. "Never Let You Down", the album's lead single, was one of the Top 50 Most Played songs for Adult Top 40 and Modern A/C radio in 2001. The song "Colorful" appears in a 2001 movie ''Rock Star'' in which lead singer Brian Vander Ark provided a singing voice for

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), former stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, businessman, and former rapper. He has received multiple accolades, including a BAFTA Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, three ...

's title character with this song and portrayed as Ricki Bell, a bassist for a fictional band Blood Pollution.

Critical reception

'' Billboard'' praised the album's turn to "power-pop territory," and wrote that singer Brian Vander Ark "has never sounded more like Peter Gabriel, and we mean that in a good way." The '' South Bend Tribune'' wrote that "Vander Ark writes five of the songs on ''Underneath'', and drummer Donny Brown writes four of them, and the differences between them help to make ''Underneath'' a constantly shifting tilt of emotions and, probably, a much better album than if just one of them had been the main songwriter." The ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

'' called the album "the best stuff the group has concocted in half a decade."

Track listing

#"Only Words" (Vander Ark) #"Never Let You Down"(Brown) #"I Want All of You" (Brown and Schlesinger) #"Miles Away" (Vander Ark) #"Happiness Is" (Brown) #"Medicate Myself" (Brown) #"Gotta Move On" (Brown) #"Local Boys" (Vander Ark) #"Colorful" (Vander Ark) #"Wonderful Waste" (Vander Ark and Schlesinger) #"Underneath" (Vander Ark)

References

The Verve Pipe albums 2001 albums Albums produced by Adam Schlesinger {{2000s-pop-album-stub